Esthee H.

I remember when MH370 went missing, I was on a flight to Beijing the very next night.

The sorrow and pain on the faces of the MH crew that were in front of us at Beijing airport, I really can't put it down in words.

I can only try to understand the pain, but I never truly will.

May this be a reminder to everyone to always appreciate the people they have around them, love them, and always tell it to them in every waking moment.

But in reality, Mayfield Lavender Farm is only less than an hour away from central London, easily accessible by public transport, and last but not least, admission is completely free of charge!
How to Get There: 

• Take the train to West Croydon.
• Look for the bus terminal (less than 5 minutes walk from the station) and board bus 166. 
• Alight at bus stop "OAKS PARK". (Bus journey is approximately 30 mins)
• Ask the bus driver or alternatively keep a lookout, most people will alight at that stop since Lavender is in bloom now.
• The bus stops directly opposite Mayfield Lavender Farm. You WILL see it.

You will see this when you alight at the bus stop. This banner is right at the entrance of the farm.



Some rules to take note of before entering.

There's a reason why RULE #1 is #1. People just don't obey this, do they? I saw people plucking Lavender and stealing them by putting them in their pockets, with excuses like "Oh, I plan to keep it as a bookmark." or "I'm just taking one to bring home."

Hello, as if the farm isn't kind enough to allow the public free access, you have to pluck their Lavender! Tsk.



Cannot emphasize that further.









I know my pictures are nothing like those you find on Google Images or Conde Nast Traveler because they were taken by a very basic canon camera, but these pictures are as real as they can get. No editing done at all. Not even enhanced. That's exactly how the farm looked in mid July!



It was so wonderful when the Sun came out from behind the dark clouds we were practically dancing on the fields.

Check out my instavids if you're interested in seeing a pretty girl go ecstatic over purple fields. Hah just kidding.

http://instagram.com/p/qHlHZ4qPsn/
http://instagram.com/p/qHk0YUqPsG/
http://instagram.com/p/qHknaIqPrv/
http://instagram.com/p/qHkhWjKPrj/






My friend was so smart to bring a bubble bottle! Look how the bubbles reflected the prism of colours under the sun!

Summer, Sun, purple flowers, bubbles, girls and a camera.

Yeah, you get it.




To be honest, we had to walk into the fields quite abit to avoid the crowd. The place was really packed with people and it was quite a challenge to take a shot with no one photo-bombing you.
The only downside is that there's no free wifi. But hey, what more can you ask for?

Thank you for the awesome company y'all!

Bet you know this nursery song that's as old as time, "London Bridge is Falling Down". In fact, I remember playing this with my cousins when we younger where two people would form an arch by linking their arms together and the others would go under the "bridge". We'd sing this nursery rhyme and when the song ends, we'd drop our arms and collapse on the person under the "bridge", capturing him/her.

I wonder if it's a game only played in Singapore or all over the world?

Now that I've grown, I wonder why this nursery song became so famous.
Imagine kids from the other end of the world singing stuff like Singapore's Merlion is vomiting. Oh my.

But anyway, I did a little bit of researching and this song is really talking about the depredation of the London Bridge.

London Bridge was originally the only crossing for the Thames. The first bridge was probably built by the Romans for conquest purposes and over time, went through destruction and repair several times. This probably explains the song.

The current London Bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973.

Presenting to you, the famous London Bridge.

To be honest, the very first time I set foot on London Bridge, I was like, this is it?


Yup, this is it.


Nearest underground Stations:
Monument & London Bridge

But what you really ought to be looking out for as a tourist in London should be the Tower Bridge.

Here's what it looks like.




The Tower Bridge came about as London grew, the East End of London became so densely populated that the problem of heavy traffic could no longer be delayed anymore.

It took 8 years, 5 major contractors and the relentless labour of 432 construction workers to complete the Tower Bridge.

When it was built, Tower Bridge was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever completed ("bascule" comes from the French for "see-saw").

These bascules were operated by hydraulics, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines. The energy created was stored in six massive accumulators, as soon as power was required to lift the Bridge, it was always readily available.
The accumulators fed the driving engines, which drove the bascules up and down. Despite the complexity of the system, the bascules only took about a minute to raise to their maximum angle of 86 degrees.

 Today, the bascules are still operated by hydraulic power, but since 1976 they have been driven by oil and electricity rather than steam. The original pumping engines, accumulators and boilers are now exhibits within the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
(Information courtesy of http://www.towerbridge.org.uk)

Tower Bridge (built 1886 - 1894), officially opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales and his wife, The Princess of Wales, has thus become an iconic symbol of London, close to the Tower of London, hence it's given name.

Nearest underground Stations:
Tower Hill on the District & Circle lines








A closer look at the Bridge.



June's weather in London was amazing. Slightly chilly at night but perfect in the day. A cardigan did just fine. :)




Ready, Get Set....

And....


SUPER MARIO JUMP!


Pictures taken while on the Bridge.

Lovely architecture, don't you think?

So if you happen to be in London for the first time, do note that the bridge you're looking out for is probably the Tower Bridge, not the London Bridge, though the latter is about a 15 - 20 minutes walk away.

What you can do is to visit the Borough Market and walk over to London Bridge. (read about my Borough Market experience here http://esthan.blogspot.sg/2014/08/borough-market-londons-most-renowned.html)

Then walk over to the Tower Bridge to help digest a little from all the food from Borough Market.

That only took about half a day altogether, we still had time to catch a musical in the evening!
Read about my Matilda - The Musical experience here.
http://esthan.blogspot.sg/2014/06/matilda-musical-on-covent-garden.html


Signing off with a shot of my friend and I trying to be goofy. There were these art sculptures along the way and we just couldn't resist having some fun.

Oh, I love London!